The dinner will honor Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who is entering her final months at City Hall, and former Georgia Gov. Carl Sanders.

But many eyes will likely be on another former Georgia governor. Roy Barnes is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether he will run in 2010 to get his old job back. He would enter a crowded Democratic field. Attorney General Thurbert Baker, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter and former Georgia National Guard Commander David Poythress have all said they are running.